The growth in credit cards issued by Chinese banks in the first half of this year decelerated due to an increasing saturated market in big cities, as well as threats from online competition, according to a report by Beijing-based consumer finance information provider Rong360.com Inc.
The report, based on first-half earnings reports from China's 12 largest banks listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, showed that only three lenders reported a positive increase in growth of credit cards issued in the January-June period, and the rest all revealed a slowdown in the issuance. In the six months through June, the 12 banks issued a total of 41.58 million credit cards, up 8.86 percent compared with cumulative figures at the end of 2014. Ping An Bank (000001.SZ), in particular, reported the highest growth, or 18.13 percent, among the 12 big banking firms.
The 12 banks are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (01398.HK; 601398.SH), Agricultural Bank of China (01288.HK; 601288.SH), Bank of China (03988.HK; 601988.SH), China Construction Bank (00939.HK; 601939.SH), Bank of Communications (03328.HK; 601328.SH), China Everbright Bank (601818.SH; 06818.HK), China Merchants Bank (600036.SH; 03968.HK), Industrial Bank (601166.SH), Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (600000.SH), China Minsheng Bank (600016.SH; 01988.HK), Ping An Bank (000001.SZ), and China CITIC Bank (601998.SH; 00998.HK).
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